NFL, NFLPA agree to CBA changes for 2020 season
The NFL and NFL Players Association agreed on Friday to terms on changes to the collective bargaining agreement for the 2020 season, the union announced. The NFLPA's team representatives voted 29-3 in favor of the agreement.
Training camps will start as scheduled, with veterans reporting no later than Tuesday.
Per sources, camp timeline in the NFL's proposal ...
- Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 24, 2020
Day 1: Testing/virtual meetings.
Days 2-3: Virtual meetings.
Day 4: Testing/virtual meetings.
Days 5-6: Physicals.
Days 7-15: Strength and conditioning (with a day off.)
Day 16: Practice starts.
Day 21: First padded practice.
A two-tiered opt-out plan was agreed upon. Players will have to opt out of the season within 10 days of the agreement and will earn a stipend for the year, according to Lindsay Jones of The Athletic.
Players who are considered a "high risk" to COVID-19 can earn $350,000 and an accrued NFL season if they choose to opt out, according to ESPN. Players who are deemed a lower risk can still opt out and reportedly earn $150,000.
There will be a medically supported plan for players with health risks, according to Mark Maske of The Washington Post.
The two parties reportedly agreed that the 2020 salary cap should remain at $198.2 million per team and the 2021 cap will be at least $175 million. The revenue losses caused by the pandemic will be covered over the four years following this campaign.
There will be two options regarding training camp roster sizes. Teams were recently notified that camp squads will be limited to 80 players, which is the maximum number of athletes allowed simultaneously in the practice facility.
However, a club can reportedly have a 90-man roster if it uses a split-squad setup. Teams carrying 80-man training camp squads must make the necessary roster cuts by Aug. 16.
If the season is canceled, players who make it through those cuts will receive a $300,000 stipend, reports ESPN's Dan Graziano. If the 2020 campaign is called off before rosters cutdowns, players who were on a club in 2019 will receive $250,000.
Practice squads will be increased to 16, and four of those players can be protected weekly from being signed by another club intending to promote them to its active roster, according to Maske.
If the season is canceled, all player salaries and incentives won't be paid this year. Any money not paid in 2020 will reportedly be guaranteed in a future year.
It was also confirmed that the 2020 preseason won't be played.
"The season will undoubtedly present new and additional challenges, but we are committed to playing a safe and complete 2020 season, culminating with the Super Bowl," commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
The NFL and the NFLPA agreed on Monday to testing procedures. The league will administer coronavirus tests to players daily throughout the first two weeks of training camp and adjust as necessary after that.
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